Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Ndebele (Zimbabwe)'

In Zimbabwe, translation studies is yet to be recognized as a discipline worthy of study in its own right, hence, not much research has been carried out into the theory and practice of translation. Furthermore, there is no tertiary institution that offers professional translation courses. In light of this information most translations are carried out by untrained/partially trained translators with only a few translators who have gained experience over time. The aim of this study was to investigate strategies used by Ndebele translators in the translation of specialized terms and cultural taboos in selected HIV/AIDS texts, as well as factors that can be used to improve the translation situation of Zimbabwe. Three main theoretical approaches were used in a complementary fashion, namely Descriptive Translation Studies (DTS), Cultural Studies and Corpus-based Translation Studies (CTS). DTS provided the researcher with a theory to understand the Ndebele translations in their wider environment; Cultural Studies provided the researcher with the means by which to understand Ndebele culture and taboos; Corpus-based Translation Studies (CTS) provided the researcher with the methodological tools and analytical techniques to analyse the corpus of texts. An English-Ndebele Parallel Corpus (ENPC) was created using fourteen English source texts and their corresponding Ndebele translations. The ENPC was interrogated by means of ParaConc, a parallel concordancing program. The study found that when translating specialised terms, Ndebele translators used strategies such as a general or neutral word, cultural substitution, paraphrasing and omission. The strategy of omission was misused in most cases because Ndebele translators omitted valuable information which did not reach the target readers. With regards to translation strategies that contributed to term creation, it was found that Ndebele translators relied on external as well as internal resources. The translators used strategies such as pure loan words; pure loan words preceeded by an explanation and indigenised loan words. From the Ndebele language itself, the translators resorted to semantic shift, compounding, coinage and paraphrasing, among others. From the ENPC it is clear that Ndebele translators did manage to transfer the message from English to Ndebele to an extent. However, the ENPC has to be used with caution by other researchers since the translations included in the corpus are full of errors such as misinterpretations of the source texts, mistranslations, incorrect terms and incorrect orthography. This factor points to a dire need to establish translation as an academic discipline and profession in Zimbabwe so as to elevate the quality of translations and offer better translation services to all users.

Aspects of customary land tenure may survive even where formal rules in a society supersede custom. This thesis is about persisting custom for Maori Freehold land (MFL) in New Zealand, and the Communal Areas (CAs) of Zimbabwe. Three questions are addressed: what unwritten land tenure custom still persists for Ngai Tahu, Shona and Ndebele, what key historical processes and events in New Zealand and Zimbabwe shaped the relationship between people and land into the form it displays today, and how do we explain differences between surviving customary tenure practices in the two countries? The research was based on in-depth interviews. A key difference between the two countries was found to lie in the type and degree of security available over the years to Maori and Shona/Ndebele. Roots of security were found in the substance of the founding treaties and concessions, and thereafter in a variety of other factors including the help (or lack of it) offered by the law in redressing grievances, the level of intermarriage between settler and autochthon, the differing security of land rights offered in urban centres in the respective countries, demographic factors and the availability of state benefits. This research finds that greater security was offered to Maori than to Shona and Ndebele, and that this has reduced the centrality of customary practices with regard to land. The research found that, in Zimbabwe, tenure security in the CAs is still underwritten by communities and that significant investment is still made in both living and dead members of those communities. Another finding is that land custom has adapted dynamically to meet new challenges, such as urban land and CA land sales. In New Zealand, investment in groups that jointly hold rights in MFL has, to some extent been eclipsed by the payment of rates and the availability of services (e.g. state-maintained boundary records and law enforcement mechanisms) and of benefits (e.g. superannuation, disability and unemployment). Land and community are not as closely linked to survival as they were in the past and, for many, they have come to hold largely symbolic value and less practical significance. Overall, it is the pursuit of security and �belonging� that have been the greatest influences on customary land tenure practices in the long term.

This study investigates the constructions of nationhood in two Bulawayo newspapers, the Chronicle and Newsday. Against the backdrop of the emergence of a secessionist movement, Mthwakazi Liberation Front (MLF), this research examines the discourses of nationhood in the secessionist debates raging in these two newspapers. This study is premised on a view that nationhood constructions cannot be understood outside the broader context in which these newspapers are embedded. Accordingly, it traces the roots and resurgence of Matabeleland separatist politics, exploring the political-historical forces that have shaped a distinctive Ndebele identity that poses a threat to the one, indivisible Zimbabwean national identity. Further, the study situates Matabeleland separatist politics within the broader African secessionist discourse challenging the post-colonial nation-building project on the continent. Informed by Hall’s (1992, 1996) constructivist approach to identity, it considers national identities as fragmented, multiple and constantly evolving. Thus, this study is framed within Hall’s (1997) constructivist approach to representation, as it examines the constructions of nationhood in and through language. The study uses qualitative research methods, as it examines the meanings of nationhood in key media texts. Informed by Foucault’s discourse theory, this research employs critical discourse analysis (CDA) to analyse 12 articles from the two newspapers. The findings confirm that the representations of nationhood in the two newspapers are influenced by their position within the socio-political context. The state-owned Chronicle legitimates the unitary state discourse advocated by ZANU PF. On the other hand, Newsday’s representations are informed by the discourses of the opposition political parties and civil society that challenge the dominant nation-building project. Thus, within this paper, secession and devolution emerge as alternative imaginaries that contest the authoritarian discourse of nationhood

This study focuses on the use of English as the sole medium of instruction in Zimbabwean schools and the effect of such a policy on the educational achievement of students, particularly in secondary schools. The role of Shona and Ndebele, two other Zimbabwean official languages, in schooling is also examined.
Some of the findings reveal a learning and teaching environment that prevents strategies from addressing linguistic, social and cultural development with a coherent workable vision in the English classroom.
Because English is the working language of government, business, and industry in Zimbabwe, an English-only policy seems to be a practical means to prepare students for higher education and the workforce. The growing status of English as an international lingua franca provides additional support for such a policy.
This study reveals the need to rethink the imposition of an English-only policy. The findings indicate that current teaching approaches/methods and materials do not entirely support language development in English, largely because they do not take into account the economic, social, and linguistic situations of the students.
The study supports and calls for a multifaceted approach to the way language is currently taught in Zimbabwe, and sees this as one way secondary schools can produce, through the medium of English instruction, students and teachers who can adapt to rapid change, and relate to people from diverse socio-cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
The study emphasizes the integration and expectations of people's views on language and education, as heard and expressed by many respondents. This is considered central to any meaningful effort towards linguistic competence, a challenging but stimulating learning environment, and better communication among students and teachers.

Although there has been increasing research on HIV/AIDS and children, albeit mostly outside the school environment, most research in the area tends to view 'children as objects' (Christensen and James, 1999) in the research process whereby the change in the child is what is being observed. This view lessens the role of the child and as such means that the results are inadequate - mostly the researcher's perspective is represented. In Zimbabwe, with an estimated 1.1 million AIDS orphans and 115,000 children under 14 living with HIV/AIDS, not much empirical research has been conducted in school settings where they spend most of their time; the complexities of infected and affected students' experiences within the school-home-community spheres are mostly inferred due to lack of empirical research. Using Bronfenbrenner's Ecological System's Theory and the Capability Approach to adopt a holistic psychosocio-cultural lens, the research aims to understand the experiences of infected and affected students from their perspectives within their school, home and community environments. Added to observations, in-depth interviews based on data collected using photography, drawings, timelines, sociograms and student diaries were conducted with 65 boys and 27 girls aged 10 -13 years from a rural primary school during the months of August to December 2011. In-depth interviews were also conducted with 161 parents and caregivers. Also interviewed were 13 stakeholders comprising of a Senior Research Officer within the Ministry of Education, District Education Officer, 5 Teachers and their Principal, a District Councilor, the Chief, a village head, a local Baptist Minister and a research staff person from, FACT, a local NGO that works with AIDS orphans. Among children, findings point to dilapidating issues of stigma, abandonment, unaddressed emotional and physical needs; children relied on each other's advice more than that of teachers and caregivers. Among the adult community, the education authorities and community leaders who are custodians of their education, ignorance about infected and affected children is astounding. An ageing population of caregivers is barely able to deal with the complexities of infected children. Religion has a powerful negative influence on addressing HIV/AIDS issues. Teachers, citing taboo issues about sex and the fact that HIV/AIDS is not an exam at the school, refused to broach the subject. Education Officials at the time clearly pointed out that there has been no research nor any plans yet to address this population and their needs. Further research will need to be conducted for educational planning that will be most effective in implementing meaningful changes for this group and other rural primary school children.

Includes bibliographical references.
This dissertation analyses creative trends in Shona and Ndebele poetry published after the attainment of political independence in 1980. The research tries to establish the close link between poems in the two national languages and post-independence Zimbabwean history in order to examine the link between creative writing and nationalism, which is the context in which creativity takes place, an attempt is made to outline major trends in nationalist history vis-a-vis colonialism. Having set the background for analysis, the research focuses on texts that are published in the context of the apparent cultural renaissance that is ushered by the apparent victory of African nationalism over colonialism. The texts are analysed in the context of the dialectic of nationalism and colonialism.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2013.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Discourses about identity framed in terms of questions about autochthons and the Other are on the ascendance in the contemporary socio-political and cultural milieu. Migration, by virtue of its transgression of national boundaries and bounded communities, stands as a contentious site with respect to the politics of identity. South Africa is one case in point, where migrants – particularly those of African origin – have been at the centre of a storm of Otherization, which climaxed in the May 2008 attacks (now widely termed ‗xenophobic attacks‘). ―Amakwerekwere”, as African migrants in South Africa are derogatively referred to, face exclusionary tendencies from various fronts in South Africa. Using language as an entry point, this thesis investigates how Zimbabwean migrants – who by virtue of a multifaceted crisis in their country have a marked presence in South Africa – experience and navigate the politics of identity in Johannesburg. Through a multi-sited ethnography, relying on the triangulation of participant observation and interviews, the thesis focuses on Ndebele and Shona speaking migrants in five neighbourhoods. Framing the analysis within an eclectic theoretical apparatus that hinges on Bourdieu‘s economy of social practice, it is argued that each neighbourhood is a social universe of struggle that is inscribed with its own internal logic and relational matrix of recognition, and each ascertains what constitutes a legitimate language and by extension legitimate identity. This relational matrix is undergirded by a specific distributional and evaluative structure with corresponding symbolic, economic and socio-cultural capitals (embodied practices) that constitute the requisite entry fees and currency for belonging, as well as the negative capitals that attract designations of the strange and the Other. Zimbabwean migrants‘ experiences as the Other in South Africa take on diverse and differentiated forms. It was observed how experiences of Otherness and being the Other are neither homogenous nor static across the different social universes that make up Johannesburg; rather they are fluid and shifting and occur along an elastic continuum. Consequently the responses of migrants are also based on a reading of – and response to – the various scripts of existence in these different social universes.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Diskoerse oor identiteit, uitgedruk in terme van vrae oor autochthons en die Ander, is aan die toeneem in die huidige sosio-politieke en kulturele milieu. Migrasie, wat met die oortreding van nasionale grense en begrensde gemeenskappe geassosieer word, is 'n omstrede terrein met betrekking tot die politiek van identiteit. Suid-Afrika is 'n goeie voorbeeld hiervan, waar migrante – veral dié van Afrika-oorsprong – in die middel van 'n storm van Anderisering beland het. Hierdie situasie het 'n hoogtepunt bereik in die Mei 2008-aanvalle – nou algemeen bekend as "xenofobiese geweld." "Amakwerekwere", soos Afrika-migrante in Suid-Afrika neerhalend beskryf word, word vanuit verskeie oorde in Suid-Afrika gekonfronteer met uitsluitingstendense. Die tesis gebruik taal as beginpunt vir 'n ondersoek oor hoe Zimbabwiese migrante – wat as 'n gevolg van 'n veelsydige krisis in hul land 'n merkbare teenwoordigheid in Suid-Afrika het – die politiek van identiteit in Johannesburg ervaar en navigeer. Deur middel van 'n multi-terrein etnografie, wat staatmaak op die triangulering van etnografiese waarneming en onderhoude, word Ndebele- en Sjonasprekende migrante in vyf woonbuurte ondersoek. Gebaseer op 'n eklektiese teoretiese apparaat, hoofsaaklik gewortel in Bourdieu se ekonomie van sosiale praktyk, word voorgestel dat elke woonbuurt 'n sosiale universum van stryd is waarop 'n eie interne logika en verhoudingsmatriks van herkenning ingeskryf is, en dat elkeen sy eie legitieme taal en by implikasie, eie legitieme identiteit het. Hierdie verhoudingsmatriks word ondervang deur 'n spesifieke verspreidings- en evalueringstruktuur met ooreenstemmende simboliese-, ekonomiese-, en kulturele-kapitaal (beliggaamde praktyke), wat dien as 'n soort inskrywingsfooi of geldeenheid vir insluiting, sowel as die negatiewe kapitaal wat toeskrywings van andersheid en die Ander aantrek. Zimbabwiese migrante se ervarings as die Ander in Suid-Afrika neem verskillende vorme aan. Daar is waargeneem hoedat ervarings van Andersheid in die verskillende sosiale kontekste van Johannesburg nie homogeen of staties is nie, maar eerder vloeibaar en skuiwend op 'n elastiese kontinuum. As 'n gevolg is die gedrag van migrante ook gebaseer op 'n lesing van – en reaksie op – die verskeie spelreëls van hierdie verskillende sosiale omgewings.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Public Management (Peacebuilding), Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2016.
Despite all the public pretences of projecting a united country, Zimbabwe is a divided country and this has made genuine peace and unity very difficult to attain. The bruised and polarised relationship between the Shona and Ndebele ethnic groups is deeply rooted in the annals of history, which makes it a protracted social conflict. The Gukurahundi campaign between 1982 and 1987 was part of a chain of catastrophic events, which have emanated from a well-established culture of violence and intolerance between Shona and Ndebele. Efforts to address this culture using a top-down approach under the auspices of the 22 December 1987 Unity Accord did little to curb hostilities. Even though these efforts were commendable, they were not sufficient to make any significant inroads into the polarised relationship of mistrust between the two groups. This thesis applied an Action Research design and specifically used the Transcend dialogue method to explore the possibilities of building mutual respect and understanding among a small sample of young Shona and Ndebele participants. The research found that creating intentional platforms for interaction could have a positive transformative effect on relationships. It is not too late to create more spaces and transformational platforms for people to dialogue, to listen to each other, to share stories, and carry out projects together. Engagement using dialogue can create new synergies, which can make a worthwhile difference to the long journey towards (re) building broken bridges and building new bridges.
D

No
This report covers the application of magnetic survey, primarily using a magnetic susceptibility field instrument, at the historically attested site of KoBulawayo, Zimbabwe. The approximate position of the site was known before the geophysical survey took place; it was believed to comprise a Royal Enclosure, a surrounding open space possibly used as a military parade ground and the Commoner/Peripheral Settlement of Lobengula, King of the Ndebele. Occupation at the site was short lived and after only 11 years the capital of the Ndebele state was destroyed by fire in 1881. A pilot survey was undertaken in 1994 to assess the suitability of survey techniques. Consequently, a second, more extensive survey was carried out in late 1996 and early 1997 with the intention of delimiting the Royal Enclosure. Further periods of data collection took place later in 1997 and in 1998. This report describes the methods used and the interpretation of the geophysical results in the context of the understanding and management of this important historical site. Additionally, some of the results of the geophysical work have been tested by excavation and a discussion of the correlation between these data sets is also reported in this article.

This thesis examines Ndebele women’s reflections on the role of labia elongation in the (re)construction of female identities from being a girl to being a woman. Labia minora elongation is a practice that is performed by women of some ethnic groups in Matabeleland, Zimbabwe. The origins of this practice are not known because it has been passed on from one ethnic group to the other and from one generation to the other. Based upon the narratives of 56 women and 7 men, this study examines a topic that is under-researched. It explores the women’s lived experiences of labia elongation and the role of this practice in the formation of collective and individual identities. This study was carried out among ‘Ndebele’ women who lived in Stoke on Trent (England), Bulawayo and Makulela (Zimbabwe) and used qualitative research techniques, including auto-ethnography drawing on my reflexive role of being an ‘insider’ and ‘outsider’ . According to the findings, labia elongation has meaning and value in negotiating gender and sexual identities. By elongating their labia minora, Ndebele women redefined their social status and (re)constructed their identities as respectable women collectively. By being part of a group of women with elongated labia minora, they protected marriages and refrained from being despised as Bhotoko. Formation of these ‘women’s’ identities was associated with specific places that became meaningful when women discussed or performed the practice. Labia elongation was important in the formation of a Ndebele woman’s identities and how she related herself to her community and the world she lived in. However it is a hidden marker of womanhood and ethnic background, revealed only to selected kin, peers and partners, and thus previously little understood. This research highlights women’s own accounts, previously unrecorded, linking them with my own life story and experience of labia elongation.

The study explored cultural perspectives of the Zimbabwean Ndebele on alternative modes of childbirth. A qualitative generic, exploratory and descriptive design guided the study. The problem is that alternative modes of birthing are not acceptable to the Zimbabwean Ndebele. Women who give birth through alternative modes of birthing, which include caesarean section (CS) instrumental deliveries (ID) and any other unnatural modes are stigmatised. Data were collected from purposively selected samples of women who had given birth through alternative modes of birthing, spouses, mothers-in-law, community elders, sangomas (traditional healers) and traditional birth attendants (TBAs) using individual unstructured in-depth interviews, structured interviews and focus group interviews (FGIs). Data were analysed through use of qualitative content analysis which involved verbatim transcripts. Interpretations of narrations of data and script reviewing were done while simultaneously listening to audio-tapes which were transcribed in the IsiNdebele the language that was used to collect data. Data were then translated into English to accommodate all readers. Accounts of all the informants that were interviewed point to effects of supernatural ancestral powers, infidelity and use of traditional and herbal medicines as cause for “tiedness” (labour complications), a concept that showed a strong thread throughout the study. Study findings illuminated that traditional practices are culture-bound and the desire is to perpetuate the valued culture. Recommendations made from the study are; cultural orientation of local and foreign health workers, cultural consultation and collaboration with sangomas (traditional healers) and particular recognition of the significance of the study as a cultural heritage of the Zimbabwean Ndebele society. Further research on how women and their spouses cope with the grieving process after experiencing the crisis and grief following CS is recommended. With all the recommended areas addressed, Zimbabwean Ndebele would find alternative modes of birthing acceptable.
Health Studies
D. Lit. et Phil. (Health Studies)

According to Chiwome, ' ... a writer's social vislon is a soclo-spiritual and historical product. A response to a complex process of Indoctrination' (1996: 16).The response can be a reaction depending on whose interests the issue is considered. The Ndebele novelist finds himself caught in the crossfire between two great traditions. He tries to be true to his background while still having to do justice to his newly acquired skill of graphically presenting his thoughts, feelings, and experiences He is a Victim of socio-political systems bent on giving education which moulds the mind to built-in- choices. Both poilitical eras use the printed word to further their ideologies . The Ndebele novelist finds himself having to remould his artistic genius if he is to fit in. In the process the goals of novelistic practice are missed. The novel will not communicate effectively since it has to answer to particular external forces. These forces derive,' ... from the urge of power to protect itself, to perpetuate itself, to prevail' (Chiwome 1996 :22). On the threshold of the two eras, the novel becomes a political statement. It Is this political aspect of the novel which continues to create what Chiwome (1996) has called creative timidity and mediocrity.
African Languages
M.A. (African Languages)

This thesis is an exploration of tabooed literary creations that it terms carnival literature. To achieve the objective of establishing the effectiveness of posting material on Facebook walls of the selected group and individual accounts to escape censorship, the thesis compared traditional graffiti, particularly latrinalia, to ‗cyber‘ graffiti (social media) with Facebook as a case study. Lev Vygotsky‘s Activity Theory helped the study link graffiti, vulgarities, humour and Facebook to the Ndebele society‘s response to tabooing of carnival literature. The thesis argued that participating in traditional graffiti production and coming up with posts on a Facebook wall is a deliberate effort with a target audience just as other genres of literature have. However, society tends to condemn carnival literature as a rebellious genre that deserves exclusion from ‗normal‘ interaction. Carnival literature is therefore censored through tabooing its themes and language. The term carnival literature is derived from medieval performances that were named the ‗carnivalesque‘ by Bakhtin and have equivalents in Africa as a continent and in Zimbabwe as a nation. The characteristics of carnivality are found in both traditional graffiti and ‗cyber‘ graffiti. These, among others, include sex and sexuality as themes, obscenities, vulgarities, and all language that is considered offensive. Interestingly, these elements of carnivality evoke laughter of one kind or another. Latrinalia from selected public toilets from the city of Bulawayo was photographed and subjected to Critical Discourse Analysis with attention being paid to carnivality, Bakhtinian dialogism and humour and its impact on the interaction process. Posts on walls of the selected Facebook group and individual accounts were subjected to the same treatment that was given traditional graffiti. The thesis argues that social media can perform a similar function to that of traditional graffiti with added advantages. Social media has created world communities that are brought together by common interests and platforms where they meet and share ideas. The study also established that messages have layers of meaning, making it unreasonable to ban certain messages since they serve a particular purpose. Social media, particularly Facebook, provides pockets of privacy for candid and unfettered interaction that service specific audiences among the Ndebele; hence can function as the escape route for carnival literature from cultural censorship in Zimbabwe.
African Languages
D. Phil. (African Languages)

As a Euro-African I wish to explore the validity of the idea that worldview factors are fundamental in determining the praxis of administration. From observation and experience, problems with the practice of administration appear to be generic, rather than primarily personal. (It was noted, however, that personality and temperament also play a role.) The enquiry focuses on Shona and Ndebele Christians in Zimbabwe. As the field of study is Practical Theology and to give a theological foundation for and, perhaps, at least a partial solution to some of the perceived problems, a nascent theological approach to administration is presented, together with proposed training courses in administration and leadership for Bible colleges. Because the notion of administration is somewhat abstract, a fivefold framework was used comprising Planning, Organising, Leading and Controlling, all performed within Time. Questions on the connections, values, perceptions, expectations and use of these components by Shona and Ndebele Christians were discussed in light of their worldviews. Although the intended research approach was social construction, the need for the framework undercut this approach somewhat. I also came from a moderately soft postfoundationalist viewpoint, using narrative practical theology. Six Christian leaders as co-researchers – three Shona and three Ndebele; three Pentecostal and three non-Pentecostal – shared their multicultural insights through personal anecdotes and narrative interaction. Chapter One, in two parts, begins with a personal anecdote and other illustrations highlighting some of the difficulties experienced with administration and its processes in a multicultural African context. The research question – whether worldview shapes the praxis of administration – together with sub-problems, is then outlined. The second section explains the research methodology. Chapter Two defines worldview and administration from both the natural and Christian perspectives, to clarify their nature and praxis. Some underlying problems are introduced. Chapter Three explores what constitutes administration in Christian ministry. Here, values and tasks are itemised to reveal the actual content of administration (at least from a local church pastor’s perspective) and some assumptions behind it. Chapter Four presents individual conversations with the six co-researchers. These personal responses begin to highlight the connection of worldview to administrative praxis and some initial issues arising there from. Chapter Five reflects group dialogues, which allow for cross-cultural and cross-theological views. Gender is introduced as a woman para-church ministry leader replaces a pastor. This provides further fusion of views. From there, Chapter Six examines the Shona, Ndebele and Christian worldviews in more depth. Two case studies are explored narratively, to identify how worldview factors impact the praxis of administration in specific settings. Chapter Seven discusses the group’s understanding of the Biblical perspective of administration. A tentative theological approach to administration is offered. And lastly, Chapter Eight summarises the findings, identifies the issues and presents some solutions. The focus for the latter is on possible administration courses for Bible colleges. Although not directly social constructionist, the team affirmed this approach. The intention here is to enhance this training and thus improve administration in Christian ministry for the wider benefit of the Church community.
Thesis (PhD (Practical Theology))--University of Pretoria, 2007.
Practical Theology
PhD
unrestricted

In her study of the post-independence Zimbabwean music industry, Angela Impey notes that women now constitute a hidden yet sizeable force in the music industry (1992:17). The current study examines the socio-political, cultural and economic factors that have led to the significant increase in the number of female musicians in the post-independence Zimbabwean popular music industry. The study also seeks to bring to the fore the longstanding issue of the dynamics in the relationship between male and female musicians in the industry. Applying a feminist approach to the study of popular music, the current study seeks to shift the focus of research from the presentation of women as victims in the industry to that of celebrating the female successes in the popular music industry. Through a case study approach the study sets out to describe and analyse the careers of Sandra Ndebele and Edith Weutonga who have become successful in the once male dominated industry.

This thesis considers the initiatives of civil society organizations involved in efforts to revitalize the endoglossic minority languages in Zimbabwe in the period following the attainment of political independence in 1980. The study sought to understand how particular organs of civil society in Zimbabwe, such as the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace in Zimbabwe, Silveira House, Save the Children Fund (United Kingdom), and the African Languages Research Institute, have contributed to the development and promotion of linguistic human rights in Zimbabwe. These civil society organizations have worked with grassroots organizations formed by speakers of the endoglossic minority languages, such as the Tonga Language and Cultural Organization and the Zimbabwe Indigenous Languages Promotion Association. This thesis traces the initiatives undertaken by these organs of civil society through the formation of collaborative networks involving the various actors who collectively mobilized for the linguistic human rights of minority language groups in Zimbabwe. A qualitative approach to research was adopted for this study. Data was collected through qualitative interviews with key informants as well as through documentary materials that were collected from the identified organizations involved in the minority language revitalization project in Zimbabwe. Drawing on analytic frameworks of language revitalization efforts advanced by Fishman (1991, 2001), Crystal (2000), Skutnabb- Kangas (2000) and Adegbija (1997), I argue that the minority language revitalization efforts in Zimbabwe targeted two main domains of language use; education and the media. I further identify three main strategies that were adopted in advocating for an increased presence of the minority languages in these domains. The first strategy involved what Fishman calls the search for “ideological consensus” and “prior value consensus”. This strategy involved efforts by the language activists to mobilize the grassroots members of the minority language-speaking community to assume an ideological orientation whereby the minority languages were viewed as a resource and a right, and to actively participate in developing and promoting their languages. The second strategy arose from the focus on the state’s language ideology as constituting the basis on which the marginalization of their languages was legitimated. This second strategy, identified as an ideological or politically-oriented language revitalization strategy, involved instituting measures that challenged the state’s language policy as the manifestation of an exclusionary and linguicist state language ideology. The third strategy, identified as a language-based and technically-oriented language revitalization strategy involved initiatives geared towards corpus development of the minority endoglossic languages. This thesis concludes that these language revitalization initiatives were successful because as a result of these initiatives, the Government of Zimbabwe made concessions that gave the minority language groups a bigger stake in their targeted domains: the Ministry of Information and Publicity set up a radio station broadcasting exclusively in the minority languages, and the Ministry of Education, Sport and Culture put in place new provisions on the learning and teaching of minority languages which allowed for the teaching of minority languages up to Grade 7 by 2005, with room for annual progression to secondary school level.

A content analysis of Leonard Karikoga Zhakata’s sungura music unpacks shared experiences of Zimbabweans during a decade of crises.Various musicians composed music pregnant with cultural meaning. These genres defied the ruling Zanu PF party‘s propaganda. The ZANU P.F. flagged enemy was imperialist history, whose characteristic was bankrupt in civil justice. Common sense ‘umunthu’ (‘Humaness)’ philosophy could have witnessed the ruling party stand by the people at the height of economic decline. This dissertation argued that the sungura genre became a formidable force. The music had dramatic effect of unifying citizens of different distinct cultural traditions, often which set Shona, Manyika, Korekore, Changana and Ndebele apart. ‘Mugove’ ‘(Reward) and ‘Hupenyu mutoro’ (Life is a burden) lyrics manifested thought processes, ideas and actions which projected popular unity against ruling elite hegemony. Zimbabweans’ collective cultural awareness that could have defined social experiences indirectly or directly motivated formations of oppositional political establishments. The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) was the brainchild of political disillusionment chorused in “Hupenyu Mutoro’ (Life is a burden) and ‘Mugove’ (Reward) lyrics. The musical texts unravelled the hidden sin of gross graft by the powerful built on self aggrandisement at the expense of the vulnerable subalterns. The sungura genre manifested an art of aggressive entertainment and enjoyment yet passively and remotely awakening citizens to the obtaining dire economic hardships. The genre’s scholarly fabric and dynamics, cut deep into life sensibilities as exemplified by ‘Hupenyu Mutoro’. The deplorable life style experienced by the suffering majority epitomised by political repression and economic meltdown became catalyst for political participation and opportunities for plural voices.This dissertation argues that academic curricula harnesses the influential sungura genre in teaching a people’s story. Sungura music authenticates national historical versions that comfortably orbits around official realities of civil governance processes, what Fanon refers to as ‘a zone of occult instability (Fanon, 1963 p. 253). Unemployment, hyper-inflation, cholera out breaks, empty shelves in shops compounded with a ravaging parallel market prices became food for thought. Disllusionment nagged Zimbabweans below and above the poverty datum peg vis a viz the material power index of a handful citizens in the ruling party. Hence Zhakata’s ‘Hupenyu mutoro’ (Life is a burden) and ‘Mugove’ (Reward) became a classical and contested terrain that motivated the teaching and learning of Zimbabwean history.
Communication
M.A. (Communication)

The study of the Church of Christ’s ‘Identity- and Mission-Continuity’ in the Zimbabwean context explores how the Christian faith should be interpreted and contextualised in Africa. The Church of Christ in Zimbabe (COCZ) is a Christian movement claiming to be representative of the ethos of the Church that was founded by Jesus Christ on the day of Pentcost. The thesis raises critical questions of Christian identity and transformation in missionary founded churches like the COCZ in an attempt to contribute towards a locally based study of the Church. Consciousness to being a Church founded by Jesus Christ has implications for Christian unity (oneness) and ecumenism in the COCZ, and its wider Christian networks1. Use of its theological tenets, which are indeed congruent with its projected identity, to explore its history when it came to Zimbabwe in relationship to its founding charism helped because of scarcity of literature on the history of Christian denominations in Zimbabwe. This thesis has followed four objectives that are related to the four stages of experiences by the Church Jesus Christ founded, namely, the (1) early Church, (2) reformation evangelism, (3) missionary enterprise and, (4) contemporary (African) expressions of the faith. This study has investigated the origin and reasons for the formation of the Church in the midst of others; and why its missionaries chose Zimbabwe where there were other denominations. Local experiences of the Church after the departure of white missionaries motivated this study with questions on how the process of inculturating the gospel in the COCZ raised, especially the tension between continuity and discontinuity, linking and delinking, similarity and dissimilarity as well as diversity and diference. Creative synthesis on what Jesus intended; what missionaries brought; and what the God of history is doing in the contemporary life and efforts of the Church were implied and/or explicated. Using a two-pronged approach to the study, the thesis has, first, unearthed (primary) documents like minutes from church board meetings by Europeans (with misionary thinking that developed from these origins), to contextual (secondary) documents (on how local theologians in the context have engaged the different Christian doctrines in the Zimbabwean context). Secondly, an empirical method was used to interview and distribute questionnaires to a number of individuals, inclusive of those who were in the COCZ leadership and ordinary members. Data collection tools were semi-structured, giving respondents freedom to express themselves and/or their views on what the COCZ was doing and what they believe must be done. Data from interviews and questionnaires were correlated with views expressed in the written sources. The data was interpreted heuristically, in order to give light to new knowledge that was being formed in the process. As an interpretive tool, hermeneutics (the phenomenological approach using Atlas.ti 8 (SPSS, Nvivo 8) - for verbatim transcription) was made key in looking into the context, culture and religion of the COCZ. The thesis attempted to create a dialogue by relating identity, communal ontology and epistemology to the empirical study findings, literature and the methodology. Ecology and gender were some of the indispensable aspects of theology, crucial for human survival, harmony and peace that were discussed because they were neglected in the COCZ. The thesis also revisted differences and similitudes found in the gospel in relationship to the intended and unintended 1 Unity and oneness expressed in John 17 [“Et Unum Sint” – That they may be one], emphasise the sociality of the Godhood through the doctrine of perichoresis, which is unity of the Godhead in the economy (our) of salvation. xiii cultural contributions of the Ndebele and Shona so far, with the purpose of repositioning the COCZ within its own transformative framework. This helps the Church with a strategy of how to model its theology in an African context and how to learn from its past with the view to transform itself for the 21st century Zimbabwe. The study is not exhaustive on the nature, history and mission of the COCZ, and many avenues like hermeneutics, church polity, public theology, conflict studies and church doctrine can be carried out using the COCZ as a case study. In all, the study has laid a foundation for the contextualization, evangelization, inculturation and incarnation of the gospel of Jesus Christ through the COCZ in a postmodernist society.
Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology

The study sought to investigate how the symbiotic relationship between amaXhosa and amaNdebele impacted on IsiXhosa language and amaXhosa culture in Mbembesi area in Zimbabwe. The study was conducted where two ethnic groups of amaXhosa and amaNdebele coexist. Language policies in the past have disadvantaged amaXhosa by treating the language as a minority language which led to its marginalisation at school and in public life. Dynamic Social Impact Theory was used to explain the concept of the evolution of language. Language contact, language change, and bilingualism are the main terms that were discussed in relation to what happened to the two languages of study. The case study was descriptive in nature. The participants were purposefully selected according to what the researcher desired to achieve. The data were collected through interviews with heads of schools in Mbembesi, teachers, elders and youths of the community. Document analysis was also employed when the Indigenous Languages syllabus and teachers’ schemes were observed. The pupils were given a topic on which to write a short composition in IsiXhosa and IsiNdebele to ascertain if indeed IsiNdebele had impacted on IsiXhosa. A comparison between IsiXhosa of Mbembesi and that of South Africa was made as a way of verifying if there has been a change from the original IsiXhosa that is spoken in South Africa. The two ethnic groups’ cultural activities were also studied as a way of investigating the level of impact in their way of life. After administering the research instruments, the findings revealed that there is a level of impact on IsiXhosa language and amaXhosa culture through their contact with amaNdebele. The terminology in the two languages has overlapped as well as their cultural lives. The Zimbabwean 2013 Constitution has tried to raise the status of IsiXhosa by making it officially recognised but it seems to be still functioning at community level as before. IsiXhosa is still not learned at school although it was introduced in 2013 in the two pilot schools but which discontinued in 2016 reverting to IsiNdebele citing lack of teaching and learning materials. The recommendations from the study include: that the teachers should be trained in IsiXhosa at institutions of higher learning; that amaXhosa educated personnel should spear-head the writing of teaching and learning materials and that the language should be used in public life so that its speakers maintain their identity.
Linguistics and Modern Languages
Ph. D. (Languages, Linguistics and Literature)

The research examines the interface of history and fiction. It predominantly focuses on historical fiction on the Zimbabwean liberation war written in Shona, Ndebele and English and published after the attainment of political independence in 1980. Historical fiction on the liberation war is both biographical and autobiographical. Consequently, the study comes to the conclusion that historical fiction is a veritable stakeholder in the history issue in Zimbabwe. It becomes another type or source of history that cannot be papered over when dealing with the nation’s history. In a nation where liberation war history is not only taken seriously, but is also a vigorously contested terrain, historical fiction becomes part of those discursive contestations, particularly on nation and nationalism. It is in this regard that the study problematises the interface of history and fiction by reasoning that historical fiction published in the early 1980s largely advances a state-centered perspective which views history, nation and nationalism in positive terms. This discourse uses history in order to argue for a single nation that derives its identity from the heroic and symbolic guerrilla characters. Nationalism is exclusively presented as humanising and as being the sole legitimate political brand capable of leading the nation. On the other hand, historical fiction written in English and published in the late 1980s onwards represents alternative historical truths that contest nationalism and debunk official definitions of nation. This discourse leads to the pluralisation of perspectives on nation and nationalism. The focus on historical fiction published in three languages used in Zimbabwe is a conscious attempt to transcend ethnicity in critical scholarship. Discussing novels in Shona, Ndebele and English, which are the three main languages in Zimbabwe, makes it possible for the study to draw reasoned conclusions on the bearing of time, language, region and background among others on historical representation. This undertaking brings to the fore how literature responding to similar historical processes appears moderately conjunctive and principally disjunctive. Correspondingly, it also shows various trends in the development of liberation war fiction in Zimbabwe.
African Languages
D. Litt. et Phil. (African Languages)

Indigenous knowledge systems are ―a body or bodies of knowledge‖ which Africans have survived on for a very long time (Mapara, 2010). This study intends to examine the various communicative and indigenous strategies that are employed by the Zimbabwean Ndebeles in issues of peace and conflict management. It is necessitated by the realisation that there is an increase in conflict in the region and country as a result of political and socio-economic challenges. The study adopts a bottom-up approach where conflict management becomes a process that starts from the grassroots going outward. This should also provide an opportunity to demonstrate that indigenous people are as sophisticated as every other society in dealing with their challenges (Warren, 1991). At the same time, it seeks to examine effectiveness of the indigenous and communicative conflict management strategies used by the Ndebele people. The study makes use of research questionnaires and interviews as well as descriptive and content analysis for data gathering and analysis respectively. The main theoretical concept guiding this study is ubuntu because it is considered best for Afrocentric approach to African studies. This is emphasised by Moyo and Lantern (2015:103) who state that ―... the philosophy of ubuntu should be the guiding philosophy in a Zimbabwe poisoned by ill-understood and often ill-digested ontological philosophies of individual rights that give rise to selfishness, violence, fragmentation and the sterile, barren philosophy of each man for himself‖ which continues to tear our society apart. The study focuses mainly on the Ndebele speaking communities in Silobela District of Zimbabwe. The study helps the nation in combating and addressing cases of conflict by ushering in the cultural dimension which is albeit not foreign in the worldview of the local people. This compliments all other efforts being made by the government to address socio-political challenges. By documenting (indigenous knowledge systems) that which has been otherwise ignored and side-lined for a long time, the study is part of an on-going process of mental decolonisation of the African people at the same time empowering them to face a globalising world with confidence and pride.
African Languages